


Breaking the Ice

by MaverickSawyer



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-21
Updated: 2014-12-21
Packaged: 2018-03-02 13:26:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2813579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaverickSawyer/pseuds/MaverickSawyer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mako and Raleigh take a vacation to get away from society for Christmas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Breaking the Ice

**Author's Note:**

  * For [verysharpteeth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/verysharpteeth/gifts).



Breaking the Ice

 

Mako and Raleigh got out of their rented car and looked at the structure before them. Mako turned to Raleigh. “So, what exactly are we going to be doing at this cabin, anyways?”

Raleigh grinned at his copilot as she retrieved the bags of food. “Taking some time to unwind and relax.” He hit the trunk release on the remote and grabbed their luggage from the car. “This cabin’s off the grid. No internet, no cable, no cell coverage.” He closed the trunk and locked the car. “Just a satellite phone for emergency use.”

Mako’s eyes narrowed. “There’s clearly lighting and an HVAC unit. So where does the electricity come from? It can’t be solar. Not this far north.”

Raleigh tossed her the keys to the cabin. “There’s a series of hot springs about five klicks away.”

Mako smiled. “Geothermal tap?”

“Yup. It provides the heating for the cabin, too.”

“Clever, clean, and reliable.” Mako unlocked the door and opened it to reveal the interior. “Wow. This is…”

“Pretty neat, huh?”

“Yeah.” Mako walked in and turned around, taking in the small but functional space. “I guess the word I was looking for was ‘compact.’ This isn’t much bigger than Gipsy’s Conn Pod!”

Raleigh came in and closed the door behind him. “It’s all about how you use the space. For example, the bed is not at floor level.”

Mako’s head whipped around, seeking the bed. “Not at… A loft? Good thing we’re not afraid of heights!” She grinned and set the food down on the counter, eager to go take a look.

Raleigh laughed. “You’re a force of nature when you get excited.”

Mako scrambled up the ladder. “And you love every bit of that.”

“Guilty as charged.” Raleigh parked the luggage and climbed up after Mako.

Mako flopped onto the bed and smiled broadly. “This is cool.”

“Actually, I hope it’s warm.”

Mako gave Raleigh a well-practiced look. “Raleigh…” She sighed.

Raleigh laid down next to Mako, still chuckling. “Hey, I thought it was funny.”

“Your sense of humor still needs a little work. It’s still rusty in spots after being left out in the Alaskan wilderness for five years.”

Raleigh took a playful swipe at his copilot, who expertly grabbed his arm and pulled him in close. “So, Mr. Becket… Where do you go for Christmas trees around here?”

 

+=+=+

 

Mako looked around at the small grove of fir trees. “Raleigh?”

Raleigh’s head appeared from behind a rather large tree. “Yeah, Mako?”

“They’re all too large for the cabin.”

“You sure?”

Mako followed Raleigh. “I thought I had already-”

Mako stood utterly still for a moment as she realized what had happened. _Did he just…_

A snowball whizzed past Mako’s right ear before impacting into a tree trunk and dissolving into a spray of white powder.

Mako spun around, ducking both to avoid the next incoming snowball and to scoop up one of her own. _“Kore wa sensō o imi shimasu!” This means war!_

Raleigh’s delighted chuckle drifted from behind a nearby tree. “Bring it.”

Mako wound up and fired off a fastball of a throw just as Raleigh popped out of cover to throw another snowball at Mako. He missed.

Mako didn’t.

Raleigh stared at Mako in disbelief for a moment. “Where did THAT come from?”

“Softball. I was the pitcher for what you would call junior varsity in high school.” Mako scooped up another snowball. “Pitched a shutout game once, actually.”

Raleigh took one last look at Mako, saw the determined glint in her eyes, and decided that it may be a better move to run than to stand his ground. _Shitshitshit…_

Mako wound up and let fly with another fastball as Raleigh skidded around a tree, starting what would turn into a rather extended snowball fight between the Rangers.

 

+=+=+

 

It had taken nearly twenty minutes of dodging snowballs for the two Rangers to make their way to the next grove of trees. Mako reached it first, followed shortly thereafter by Raleigh. They both took one look at each other, wound up, and threw their snowballs…

Which collided midair precisely between them.

They locked eyes for a moment before Raleigh grinned. “Alright, we’ll call it a draw.”

Mako smiled and walked over to Raleigh. “Fair enough. My arm is getting tired, anyways.”

“Finally.” Raleigh groaned and wrapped an arm around Mako’s shoulders. “So, here’s the other grove I was telling you about between snowballs.”

Mako began to walk through the trees, looking them over, not quite sure what she was looking for. Then, she stopped dead in her tracks.

Raleigh followed her sightline to a tree not much taller than himself. “That one?”

Mako walked around the tree, silent for a while. Finally, she spoke up. “Yes… This one.”

“Okay, then. Hold it steady for me.” Raleigh pulled a folding saw out of his jacket pocket and began to cut the tree about a foot off the ground. “Shouldn’t take long.”

Mako worked her hand through the branches and grabbed the trunk. “Got it.”

The tree began to shake slightly in her hands as Raleigh cut through the tree. “Can you pull it back towards you slightly? Don’t want to bind up the saw…”

“Sure.”

For a few moments, the only sounds to be heard were the “ _zzzzkt, zzzzkt, zzzzkt_ ” of the saw and the rushing sound of a gentle breeze through the trees. Mako looked around, savoring the solitude. _This is nice. No traffic, no media, no digital distractions… Just us._

Raleigh stopped sawing, drawing Mako out of her reverie. “Okay, tree’s loose. You want to carry it?”

Mako hefted the tree, feeling its weight. “No, you can take it. I’m still not too sure about my footing in the snow with that much weight in my hands. That’s half my own weight!”

“True.” Raleigh grabbed the tree and pointed with his free hand. “Cabin’s that way.”

“But, we came from over there.” Mako pointed to their left.

“Yeah. And we took the log way ‘round to get here.”

Mako turned around, getting her bearings. “Okay, then. Back to the cabin.”

“Oh, just… be careful near the pond. There’s a slope that goes straight to the edge of the water, and it’s kinda icy there.”

“Thanks for the warning.” Mako began to slog through the snow towards the cabin, Raleigh close behind.

 

+=+=+

 

Mako found the pond with ease. _And he said it was steep. I can get down that no problem…_ She turned around to see Raleigh happily trudging through the shin-deep snow, tree still in hand. “You mad it out to be worse than it really is, Raleigh!”

“Just… be careful, please?”

Mako smiled at her copilot’s worry. “I’ll be fine.” She took a step backwards, intending on turning around and carrying on with the hike…

Instead, her right foot found a fallen limb submerged in the snow, tripping her and sending her down the slope like a hockey puck. A small part of Mako’s mind noted with remarkable clarity that it was surprisingly icy… and steeper than it had seemed from above. The rest of her mind realized that she was now sliding towards a partially frozen pond and should _really_ do something to arrest her slide.

Up above, Raleigh watched helplessly as Mako skidded down the bank and out onto the ice. “MAKO!”

She shook her head as she slid to a stop. “Raleigh?”

Raleigh dropped the tree and ran to the edge of the slope. “Mako! Whatever you do, DON’T MOVE YET.”

“Why?”

Raleigh heard a note of fear in her voice, mirrored by the ghostly bond that still linked them months after their last Drift. “The ice you’re on… it’s really thin. Lemme get something to reach out to you with. I’ll pull you in to shore. Just… stay laying down. It’ll spread out your weight.” Raleigh began to look around. _Come on… gotta be one around here somewhere…_

Mako watched her copilot dart off in search of _something_. She lay on the ice, listening to the sound of it shifting under her weight. _Hurry, Raleigh!_

“ _Zzzkt, zzzkt, zzzkt, zzzkt…_ ”

Mako suddenly understood Raleigh’s plan. _A tree limb! That’s perfect!_

A few moments later, a series of _SNAP_ s echoed through the chill air. “HANG ON, MAKO! ALMOST DONE!”

She lifted her head to see if Raleigh was coming over the crest of the slope yet. _No, not yet._ She let her head thump against the ice…

Raleigh froze at that sound. _No… nononono…_ He grabbed the tree limb and ran to the edge of the hill. “MAKO!”

There was a Mako-sized hole in the ice… but no sign of the maker of the hole. “MAKO!!!!!!”

Suddenly, Mako popped up in the hole, totally drenched in near-freezing water. “RALEIGH!!!!”

Raleigh raced down the hill, tree limb in tow. “Keep moving, Mako!”

“It’s C-C-C-COLD!”

 _Shit… She’s shivering already. Not a good sign._ Raleigh grabbed the base of the limb and shoved the tip towards Mako. “Grab the end!”

Mako grabbed hold of the tip of the limb with all the strength she could muster. “O-o-k-k-kay.”

Raleigh pulled gently but firmly, and Mako popped out of the pond like a hooked fish. “Gotcha!”

Still soaking wet, Mako skidded across the ice back to shore, where Raleigh was waiting to help her. “C-c-c-c-co-o-o-old-d-d-d…”

Raleigh helped Mako to her feet. “Take your jacket off.”

She stared at him blankly.

“Take it off! Come on, Mako! Remember the cold-weather training at the Academy?”

Mako shook her head.

Raleigh reached over and unzipped her parka. “It’s wet, and it’s not keeping you warm. So we get rid of it for now.” He slid the soaked jacket off Mako and hung it on a tree branch nearby, then took off his own. “So, I’ll give you mine.”

Mako accepted the jacket with trembling hands… and dropped it. “ _K-k-k-k..._ ”

Raleigh grabbed the jacket and helped Mako put it on. “You’re hypothermic already, Mako. We need to get you dry and warm, in that order.” He scooped her up in his arms. “And fast. I’ll come back for the tree and your jacket later.”

Mako nodded and tried to huddle against Raleigh as best she could. _He’s so warm…_

Raleigh stared up the slope at a gentle angle, cutting across the hillside in the direction of the cabin. “Talk to me, Mako. Anything you want to. Just talk.”

Mako forced herself to speak, despite her chattering teeth. “ _Dono yōna koto wa nani demo shinakereba naranai nodeshou ka?_ ” _What does that have to do with anything?_

“Keeps you alert. Keeps you thinking.”

“Ah.” Mako looked around. “ _Dono kurai nagai kyabin e?_ ” _How much longer to the cabin?_

“Three, maybe four minutes… Long enough to have me worried sick.” Raleigh reached flatter ground and picked up the pace. “You’re soaked to the skin in ice water, Mako. You’re an engineer, you tell me what’s going on from the thermal side of things.”

Mako frowned, trying to do the math in her head. _I weigh 55 kilograms… at 37*C… no, needs to be kelvin… 310K… what was the formula?_

“Hey, no need to do the math. Just describe it.”

“Uhhh… Water is more… connective? Conduit?”

 _Shit._ “Conductive?”

Mako gave a dopey grin. “That’s the word. Water is more conductive than air, so all the heat in me is going into the water and into the air… Hey, I’m not shivering anymore.”

Raleigh started jogging. “Stay with me, Mako.”

“How can I leave? You’re carrying me.”

Raleigh relaxed slightly as the cabin came into view through the last few trees. “Almost there. When we get inside, take off everything and dry off. I’ll get you some dry clothes.”

“Okay.” Mako smiled again and tried to snuggle against Raleigh even more. “You feel like you’re on fire, Raleigh.”

“And you feel like you’re a Popsicle.”

“But I’m not shivering! I can’t be cold.”

“You’re hypothermic, Mako. Hey, I have to set you down. Can you stand up right now?”

“Sure.” Mako slid out of Raleigh’s arms and tried to stand on her own. Instead, she wobbled like a drunk.

“Easy now.” Raleigh slung her right arm over his shoulders as he dug through his pockets for the key. “Almost there…” He finally dug out his keys and unlocked the door. “Come on, let’s get you inside.”

Mako walked in the door and began to fumble with the zipper on Raleigh’s jacket. “Uhm… help?”

Raleigh helped Mako get the jacket unzipped. “Keep taking stuff off. I’m going to get you a towel and some dry clothes.” He headed into the small bathroom.

Mako began to tug at her boot laces, trying to get her cold-befuddled brain to work properly. _Not to mention my hands… I can’t get them to cooperate at all._ Mako curled her hand into a fist and hit it on the floor in frustration.

Raleigh reappeared with one of her big, fluffy towels. “Hey. You okay?”

Mako shook her head. “I can’t get my hands to work right. Too stiff.”

Raleigh sat down and started to untie Mako’s soaked boots. “You know, you’re not the first person to fall prey to that slope.”

Mako looked at Raleigh, focusing on his eyes. “Oh?”

“Yeah. Yancy wound up taking a tumble one afternoon. Thankfully Dad was there. I was just standing there, watching. I felt so…”

“Helpless?”

Raleigh pulled one of her boots off and set it aside. “Yeah. I felt like I was just there to watch.” His face fell. “Just like that night almost six years ago.” Raleigh pulled the other boot off. “Come on, let’s get you undressed and dried off.”

“No hot shower?”

“Nope. That could put you into shock.” Raleigh helped Mako pull off her wet clothes. “Instead, we get you dried off and into some dry clothes.”

Mako nodded, then accepted the towel from Raleigh. She started to dry off, then began to shiver. “Okay, why am I only shivering now? Why did I stop, anyways?”

“As you get really cold, your body starts to shut down. Shivering is one of the things that stops once it won’t do you any good.” Raleigh scrambled up the ladder to the loft and grabbed Mako’s pajamas and a blanket from the bed. “The fact that it has started up again is a good sign.”

Mako handed Raleigh the towel and took the dry clothes. “So, what now?”

A quick glance at the weather station made Raleigh wince. “Lemme get you some hot water going for tea, then I’ll go get the stuff we left behind. There’s a storm coming now, and I don’t want our tree or your jacket to get buried.”

Mako finished putting on her pajamas and sat down on the small couch, wrapping herself in the blanket. “Go. I’ll be fine.”

Raleigh bent down and kissed Mako on the forehead. “Be back in a few minutes.”

 

+=+=+

 

The first snowflakes had begun to fall as Raleigh arrived back at the cabin with the tree and Mako’s jacket. “Hey, how you doin’?”

Mako grinned and held up the mug of tea she was enjoying. “I feel much warmer. I’ve stopped shivering.”

“That’s good. You’ll be fine by sundown. Your jacket, however…” Raleigh held up the now-frozen article of clothing. “It needs a little help.”

Mako chuckled at the sight. “Yeah, I guess it does. Better that the jacket froze solid than me, though, right?”

“True.” Raleigh held up the tree. “It’s ready to put up. Want to decorate tonight, or tomorrow?”

Mako took a long sip of her tea, thinking it over. “Well, we’re not expected anywhere tomorrow, so why don’t we decorate it later?”

“That works.” Raleigh set it in the stand and tightened the fittings, then added some water to help keep the tree fresh. “So, what do you want to do tonight?”

Mako patted the couch beside her and raised her eyebrows.

Raleigh needed no convincing. He quickly took off his snow gear and joined Mako under the blanket. “Wow. You’re still cold.” He playfully scooped her up and put her in his lap. “Let me help you with that.”

Mako let out a contented sigh as she settled into place, feeling the warmth radiating from her copilot. She curled up and laid her head on Raleigh’s chest.

Raleigh chuckled and began to play with the faded blue tips of her hair. “Mako, some days I swear you’re a cat.”

“Right now, I’m inclined to agree with you.” Mako smiled.

Raleigh reached over to the coffee table nearby and grabbed his tablet. “Want to watch a holiday classic?”

Mako looked at Raleigh, curious. “There’s a lot of movies that are considered to be a ‘holiday classic.’ Which one do you have in mind?”

“I was thinking ‘Home Alone.’”

“I haven’t seen that. Let’s watch it.”

Raleigh started the movie.

 

+=+=+

 

Mako eyed the two small boxes of ornaments that Raleigh pulled from the back of the car. “That’s it?”

“We can get more next year.” Raleigh handed her one. “These are for you.”

Mako eyed the box warily. “For me.”

“Yeah. Go ahead, take a look inside.”

Mako opened the box to find a small assortment of ornaments, each of which she recognized what they represented. There was a miniature _katana_ , a little crescent wrench (fully functional, too, which made her smile), a small red shoe… And a Gipsy Danger figurine, with hand-painted spots of electric blue paint across her hull. “Thank you, Raleigh.”

Raleigh smiled and handed her a small package of ornament hooks. “I’ve got one other thing to go get for you to put on the tree. I’ll be right back.” He went out to the car, and Mako took the opportunity to poke through Raleigh’s ornaments. There was a small camera, a Gipsy Danger as she looked at launch, and a handful of other ornaments that probably held some special meaning to Raleigh that she didn’t understand yet. Mako shrugged and began to hang her own ornaments, placing her Gipsy in a spot where Raleigh’s could hang next to it.

Raleigh returned with a box in hand. “Almost forgot this. The tree topper.”

Mako turned to see what Raleigh had chosen. “Let me guess, a star?”

“Of a sort.” He unpackaged the tree topper to reveal a Gipsy Danger tree topper. “I do have a star, if you don’t like it.”

Mako thought about it for a moment. _Hmmm… Yeah, it’s tacky, but it is a part of who we are._ “It’s perfect.”

Raleigh grinned like a little kid and handed it to Mako. “You do the honors.”

Mako’s face lit up as well and she put it at the top of the tree. As she did so, it lit up and the Vortex turbine began to spin. Mako laughed in delight. “Where did you find this?”

“Tendo had some electronics shop in Los Angeles make a run of about 100 of ‘em back in 2017. This one sat atop the tree in the Ready Room every Christmas until…” Raleigh trailed off with a shrug.

“So, how did you get it back?”

“You know how Tendo is. He saved it for me and gave it back about a month ago, last time we saw him.” Raleigh began to hang his own ornaments on the tree.

“So, what are the stories behind some of your ornaments?”

Raleigh picked an ornament. “Well, this is…”

 

+=+=+

 

Raleigh woke up on Christmas morning full of energy and excitement. “Wake up, Mako! It’s Christmas morning!”

Mako was not enthused. “Raleigh… You’re 27. Why are you so excited about Christmas morning still?”

“Because this is the first time I’ve celebrated it in five years.”

Mako opened her eyes. “Okay, that would be a good reason to be excited.” She turned to face Raleigh. “But we’re eating breakfast first.”

“Deal.”

 

+=+=+

 

Raleigh had been grinning like an idiot through breakfast, and his excitement had been contagious. Mako had eagerly opened all her packages, revealing everything from a beautiful silk kimono from the Gottliebs to a toolbox set from Tendo. Raleigh had also gotten a wide range of gifts, all of which he had been extremely happy with. However, it was time for their gifts to each other. Mako gave hers to Raleigh.

Raleigh opened the box to find a new camera. The look of utter joy on his face made Mako glow with happiness, knowing that she’d picked the right gift.

“Thank you, Mako.”

“You’re welcome, Raleigh.”

Raleigh handed Mako her gift, a moderately large box. She opened the box to reveal another smaller box inside. She stared at it for a moment before the flash of Raleigh’s new camera grabbed her attention. “You took a picture of that?”

Raleigh laughed. “The look on your face…”

Mako scowled at her copilot and opened the next box to find yet another box within. “Okay, how far does this go?”

Raleigh howled with laughter, unable to reply.

Mako took the empty boxes and threw them at him, then opened the next box. Thankfully, it held only a small present. Mako pulled it out and unwrapped it, confused. Once all the wrapping was off, it revealed a small black box.

Raleigh took the box from Mako, then opened it up and pulled a ring out of the box. “Mako, we’ve known each other less than a year, but I can’t imagine my life without you at this point. Will you marry me?”

Mako clapped her hands to her mouth, unable to speak for a moment. She nodded for a few seconds before finding her voice. “Yes. Yes, I will gladly marry you.”

Raleigh briefly wrapped Mako in a hug before sliding the ring on her finger.

They silently embraced again, enjoying the moment. Finally, Raleigh spoke up.

“Merry Christmas, Mako.”

“Merry Christmas, Raleigh.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'll admit, this isn't exactly my best work, but I hope you enjoyed it.


End file.
